Hi Gang,
I am experiencing difficulties in shutting down Windows
XP Professional.
I have a Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 1gb ram pc and I am noticing
very slow shutdown times. I have scanned the entire PC
for any possible viruses, but its clean. It takes
anywhere from 35-45 seconds, when it used to be much
faster.
Is there anything I can do to tweak it or speed up the
process so that Windows XP shuts down quicker?
Many Thanks
Ahmed Johnson
Ahmed,
There are several settings in the Windows Registry that can speed up the
shutdown process. Are you comfortable with making Registry changes? Please be
careful.
Introduction To The Registry:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry
1. End services faster when shutting down.
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control" - string value
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout".
2. Give windows the ability to close non-responding apps.
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" - string value "AutoEndTasks".
3. Reduce the timeout to discover non-responding apps.
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" - string value "HungAppTimeout".
"HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop" - string value "HungAppTimeout".
4. Reduce the timeout to close non-responding apps.
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" - string value "WaitToKillAppTimeout".
"HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop" - string value
"WaitToKillAppTimeout".
Item 2 is a switch - yes or no. Items 1, 3, and 4 are timer settings. I would
NOT change more than 2 settings at any one time - and NOT change any timer
setting more than 25% from previous value each time - try each setting out a day
or so, thru a couple restarts, before making another.
Back Up The Registry before making any changes! See the Introduction article -
look under "Importing, Exporting, and Applying Registry Patches ".
ALSO, as the other poster indicated, check for spyware, that may be interfering
with system performance in so many different ways.
First, download LSP-Fix and WinsockXPFIx from <
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm>,
and CWShredder from <
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html>. All are
free.
Next, close all Internet Explorer and Outlook windows, then run CWShredder.
Have it fix all variants.
Now check for, and remove, spyware. Get HijackThis
<
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155> and Spybot S&D
<
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download>. Both free.
1) Install and run Spybot. First update it ("Search for updates"), then run a
scan ("Check for problems"). Trust Spybot, and make all recommended deletions.
2) Install and run HijackThis. Do NOT make any changes immediately. Save the
HJT Log. <
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=227>
3) Have your HJT log interpreted by experts at one or more of the following
forums (and post it, or a link to your forum post, here):
<
http://forums.net-integration.net/>
<
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/>
<
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/>
<
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/>
If removal of any spyware affects your ability to access the internet (some
spyware builds itself into the network software, and its removal may damage your
network), run LSP-Fix and / or WinsockXPFIx.
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
